Smitten by Books

Hot Westmoreland Nights
Author: Brenda Jackson
Publisher: Harlequin/Silhouette Desire
Pub. Date: March 1, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0373730131
Retail: $4.75
192 pages

If you can’t stand the heat . . .

He knew better than to lust after the hired help. But Ramsey Westmoreland’s new cook was just so delectable . . . it was enough to make the Denver rancher rethink his rules. When temptation got the best of him, he discovered Chloe Burton was just as hot in the bedroom as she was in the kitchen.

Though their affair was growing steamier by the minute, Ramsey couldn’t help but question Chloe’s true motives. And when he discovered her ultimate betrayal, he was set to satisfy himself with cold showers. Until he realized his fatal mistake: never underestimate the power of the human heart, especially a Westmoreland’s.

~*~*~

Hot Westmoreland Nights got off to a slow start for me, but it wasn’t the author’s fault. There are some things that you come to expect when you pick up a HQ/SIL novel.

For example. I know that secret baby stories annoy the heck out of me. So if I read a blurb where the heroine has a secret, from experience I know it’s going to be a secret baby story and I move on to the next title. The same thing with lying. I hate characters that lie for selfish reasons, so when I see the world betrayal in a HQ/SIL blurb, to me that’s a clue that the hero or heroine is lying and I generally pass. However, although I haven’t read a lot of Brenda Jackson’s Silhouette Desires, I’ve read enough to know that I really like them, so I continued reading. I’m glad I did.

Idle Thoughts on Setting: I think I live in the boonies. One day, I lost my mind and agreed to move from Atlanta, GA to a small (to me) town in Michigan. As a black woman this was a huge culture shock. Since diversity isn’t thick on the ground where I live, I find it hard to believe that theirs so much diversity in Colorado ranch country. Just sayin’. I know romances are supposed to be fantasy (especially HQ/SIL titles) but it pulled me out of the story. I freely admit this is my own bias because I’m so aware of it because of my personal situation. I also freely admit that I could be wrong and often am and there are a lot of black folks in Colorado ranching towns.

Characters: The hero Ramsey Westmoreland was hot. With apologies to my husband, I want my own Ramsey Westmoreland. He’s a well-drawn out likable figure. A man who’s never shirked from responsibility. A real hero, he always does what’s best for his family and his employees. In the first page, the heroine licks her lips at the site of him. At first I found this corny; however, the more Ramsey Westmoreland appeared on page, umm, I started licking my lips too. Chloe, the heroine, took a little bit warming up to. Why? Cause she lied. However, I found myself liking her as the story progressed. Although I felt she should have found a way to tell Ramsey what she wanted from him and why she was there, I found myself liking how she dug down deep and helped him out of his bind.

Plot: It’s a classic misunderstanding plot. However, the author get’s over the ‘why don’t they just sit down and talk things out’ thing by having them either; arguing, being interrupted, or being choke full of sexual tension to think straight.

Sexual Tension: There’s a lot of sexual tension between Ramsey and Chloe. I like how they’re both honest about it and unsure of how to deal with it as they felt that it was something deeper than what each had ever known before. One point kinda annoyed me is the lead up to the first major sex scene. That seemed a little contrived to me. To explain . . . Chloe cooks at his ranch. It’s the weekend, so she goes out with a friend and tells Ramsey she’ll be back Sunday evening to cook his men breakfast that morning. He jumps down her throat for coming back at 11:00 PM and telling her she’s late. I had a WTF moment right there. To give Chloe credit, she felt my WTF moment and had her own WTF moment and told Ramsey that as long as she’s there to cook his men breakfast that AM, what is it to him what time she got home. If you couldn’t tell, this is the moment where I really started liking Chloe :). Ramsey annoyed the heck out of me there, and I think it was just an excuse for them to argue and have sex. But his behavior didn’t impress me and it was hard to forgive him for that.

(Yes, I know these aren’t real people. But you get my point. At least I hope you do!)

Brenda Jackson’s novels are all about families and family dynamics. While I had a few problems with this novel (lying and the contrived hey how can I get these two in bed original sex scene). I really enjoyed Hot Westmoreland Nights. That is to say . . . Ramsey Westmoreland is Hot.

Rating: 7 (Good)

Heat-Level: 4: (Hot)